FHA fired the warning shot in December of last year when they issued Mortgagee Letter 2008-39 Revised Eligibility Requirements for FHA Roster Appraisers.  They also gave us a reprieve and extended the deadline for these requirements to October 1, 2009.

Go through your approved appraiser lists now and verify that your FHA appraisers are CERTIFIED with the state, not just REGISTERED.  If they are not CERTIFIED you cannot use them for properties with case numbers issued on or after October 1, 2009.

 

Certified and uncertified appraisers alike will still be in the FHA system come October 1, 2009.  If you assign an appraisal to a non-certified appraiser the appraisal will be uninsurable.  You (the lender) then get to complete (at your expense) a new appraisal performed by a certified appraiser.  You MAY NOT charge a borrower for the second appraisal.

 

Keep in mind that you probably won’t catch this faux pas until FHA informs you that your loan is uninsurable. Then you could be faced with rate-lock expiration issues as you wait with your fingers crossed on the second appraisal, which may or may not come in at the same value with the same property condition requirements.  What a party!